Spring type pistol-bagatelle



Jan. 10, 1967 G. LERNER l-:TAL

SPRING TYP E PI STOL-BAGATELLE 3 Sheets-Sheet l Filed Feb. 17, 1964 Jan,l0, 1967 G. LERNER ETAI. 3,297,325

SPRING TYPE PISTOL-BAGTELLE Filed Feb. 17, 1964 3 Sheets-Sheet 2INVENTORS C/EORGE LERNER JULJUS ELLMAN ATTORNEY.

Jam 10, 1967 G. LERNER ETAL SPRING TYPE PISTOL-BAGATELLE Filed Feb, 17,1964 5 Sheets-Sheet l5 ERNER O JUL/U5 ELLMAN A T TORHE Y.

United States Patent O 3,297,325 SPRING TYPE PISTOL-BAGATELLE GeorgeLerner, 12 Prospect Court, Freeport, N.Y. 11520, and Julius Ellman, 1672E. 7th St., Brooklyn, N.Y. 11232 Filed Feb. 17, 1964, Ser. No. 345,322 1Claim. (Cl. 273-101) This invention relates generally to toys and games,and is especially concerned with a unique toy or game of the bagatelletype.

It is an important object of the present invention to provide abagatelle-type toy or game which is capable of employing many differentfields of play, so as to provide a device of interest to `a variety ofusers and for great duration.

It is another object of the present invention to provide abagatelle-type toy or game which is extremely simple to operate, evenfor young children, requiring only a pistol-grip squeeze action.

lt is still another object of the .present invention to provide abagatelle-type toy or game having the advantageous characteristicsmentioned in the preceding paragraphs, wherein a simulated gun isprovided with an attachment thereto affording a field of play, andwherein operation of the gun effects propulsion of pellets to the fieldof play for movement thereabout in the manner of a bagatelle game.

Still a further object of the present invention resides in the provisionof la toy or game of the type described, which is extremely simple inoperation and construction, durable and reliable throughout a longuseful life, and which can be economically manufactured for sale at areasonable price.

Other objects of the invention will 'become apparent upon reading thefollowing specification and referring to the accompanying drawings,which -form a material part of this disclosure.

The invention accordingly consists in the features of construction,combinations of elements, and arrangements of parts, which will 4beexemplified in the construction hereinafter described, and of which thescope will lbe indicated by the appended claims.

In the drawings:

FIGURE l is a side elevational view showing a bagatelle-type toy or gameconstructed in accordance with the teachings of the present invention,partly broken away for clarity and conservation of drawing space, andillustrating an initial stage in operation.

FIGURE 2 is a partial side elevational view similar to FIGURE l, showinga slightly later stage in operation.

FIGURE 3 is a partial side elevational view similar to FIGURE 2, showinga later stage in operation.

FIGURE 4 is a side elevational view similar to FIG- URES 1-3, andshowing still a later stage in operation of the instant device.

FIGURE 5 is a partial transverse sectional View taken generally alongthe line 5-5 of FIGURE 4.

FIGURE 6 is a top plan view of the pistol-like device shown in FIGURE 4,partly broken away.

FIGURE 7 is a side elevational view of one-half of the pistol-likedevice, the other half being removed to expose the working parts, partlyin section and showing one stage of operation.

FIGURE 8 is a View similar to FIG. 7, but showing the other half of thepistol-like casing with the reverse side of the same working parts inthe position they assume at a later stage of operation.

Referring now more particularly to the drawings, a gun-simulated casingis there generally designated 10, and carries a hollow body 11 in thenature of a bagatelle field of play, as will appear more fullyhereinafter.

Patented Jan. 10, 1967 "ice The casing 10 includes an elongate barrelpart 12, illustrated as extending horizontally, and a handgrip part 13depending transversely from .the barrel part.

The elongate barrel part 12 has its forward end region 15 provided withan opening extending both upward and longitudinally forward or outwardto the left, as seen in FIGURES l and 4. As best seen in FIGURE 6, theforward 'barrel end region 15 includes a bottom wall 16, andlongitudinally extending, laterally spaced upstanding side walls 17, thefront end vand upper side of the forward barrel region 15 being open. Atleast one of the side walls 17 may Ibe formed, adjacent to the forwardend, with an upstanding resiliently deectable detent ear 1S having aprotrusion 19. There may also be provided a vertically elongateformation or rib 20 on one side wall 17 spaced from the forward endthereof, see FIGURE 6.

The rearward region of the barrel 12 is generally designated 22 and mayinclude a top wall 23, from opposite sides of which depend side walls24. The top wall 23 may be longitudinally slotted, as at 25 in FIGURE 6.

Depending obliquely downward and outward from the rearward barrel region22 is the gripping part 13. The gripping part 13 may be defined bylaterally spaced, facing side Walls 27, dependent extensions ofrespective side walls 24, and which may be provided with meeting edgeanges. The gripping part 13 is thus hollow and communicates upward withlthe immediately upwardly rear 'barrel part region 22.

The cas-ing 10 may thus be molded or otherwise formed of a pair ofessentially similar, complementary sides or parts, and further includesa hollow web part 30 extending between the gripping part 13 andunderside of barrel part 12, which web part is formed with alinger-receiving opening 31.

The hollow body 11 may be of any desired configuration, beingillustrated as having a pair of parallel spaced walls 33 and 34 ofgenerally congruent configuration and provided with -a Ibounding wall 35extending between the facing walls along the periphery thereof. As bestseen in FIGURES l and 4, the hollow body 11 upstands from the forwardbarrel part 15, and the bounding wall 35 is open or removed forinterengagement of the forward barrel part and lower region of thehollow body, providing communication therebetween. Suitable formationsmay be provided on at least one of the hollow-body walls 33, 34 fordetachable intertting engagement with the `barrel formations 19 and 20,whereby the hollow body 11 is removably secured in position on theforward barrel region 15. Interiorly of the hollow body 11 may beprovided suitable members or walls 36 of any desired coniiguration, toprovide obstacles, receptacles, and the like for pellets projected intothe hollow body, as will appear presently. Further, one region of thehollow body 11, .the lower rearward region as shown in the illustratedembodiment of FIGURES 1 and 4, is formed with an outlet opening 37communicating with an intermediate region of the barrel part 12 forreturning pellets 38 to the barrel part, as will appear more fullyhereinafter.

Mounted interiorly of the rear barrel-part region 22 ispellet-propulsion means, generally designated 40. The propulsion meansincludes an elongate hollow plunger or housing 41 disposedlongitudinally within the rear barrel-part region 22 and reciprocabletherealong. Interiorly of the hollow plunger 41 is a coil compressionspring 42 having its forward end in bearing engagement with the forwardend wall of the plunger.

Means for supplying energy to the spring 42, 'as by compression thereof,is generally designated 44 and includes a lever 45 mounted intermediateits ends interiorly of the gripping part 13 by a transverse pivot `orpin 46. The lower region of lever 45 normally projects forwardly fromthe gripping part 13, being provided with lingerreceiving formations 47,if desired. The upper end of the energy-input lever 45 is engageablewith the rearward end of spring 42 for compressing the latter `againstthe forward-end wall of housing 41, as by counterclockwise rotation oflever 45 between the positions of FIGURES 1 and 4. One wall 24 of therear barrel-part region 22 may be formed with an arcuate cutout or slot48, and a transverse projection or pointer 49 may be carried by theupper end of lever 45 projecting laterally through slot 48. Suitableindicia or markings 50 may be provided externally along the slot 4S forindicating the location of pin 49, as shown in FIGURE 4, which locationcorresponds to the degree of compression of spring 42.

Mounted interiorly of the hollow web 30 of casing 10, and depending intothe finger opening 31, may be a trigger or arm 52. That is, the upperend of trigger or arm 52 is pivoted, as by pin 53 extending transverselyacross and mounted in the web part 30. Projecting forwardly from anupper region of trigger arm 52 may be a pawl or dog 54. A stop arm 55 isdisposed within the web part 30 and extends generally forwardly from theupper end of trigger arm 52, -having its forward end mounted by a pivotpin 56. The rearward region of the stop part 55 is provided with arearwardly opening cutout 57 receiving the dog 54 and permitting oflimited relative swinging movement between the trigger arm 52 and stoparm 55. EX- tending upward from the rearward region of stop arm 55,directly below hollow-body opening 37, is an upwardly facing pellet seat58, While the rear region of seat 58 carries an abutment 59 forengagement with the forward end of hollow plunger 41.

Mounted in the casing 10, between the trigger arm 52 and lever 45 may bea torsion or sear spring 60, being mounted on a transverse pin 61.Opposite ends 62 and 63 of the spring 60 may respectively engage thetrigger arm 52 and lever 45 to urge lboth in the clockwise direction, asseen in FIGURE 1. The trigger arm 52 is thereby swung to .a limitingposition, as determined by the interengaging configurations of pawl 54and cutout 57, to swing the stop arm or catch 55 counterclockwise to alimiting upper position with its abutment 59 located in the path ofmovement of plunger 41.

Also mounted in the rear barrel part 22, above the plunger 41, is anelongate feed member 65, mounted for longitudinal reciprocation into andout of closing relation with respect to the hollow-body opening 37. Anactuating member or lug 66 may upstand from the feed member 65 throughthe elongate slot 25 of barrel-part top wall 23. The upstanding lug 66thus provides means for manually reciprocating the feed member 65 forgravitationally feeding one pellet 38 at a time to a position on seat58. j

In operation, with a selected hollow body 11 of the desiredplaying-field configuration snap-engaged on the forward barrel-partregion 15, it will be apparent that the assembled hollow body and casingmay -be manipulated to roll the several pellets 38 into position overthe opening 37. As shown in FIGURE 1, the feed member 65 is in itsforward position to close the opening 37 and retain the pellets inposition thereabove.

Rearward movement or retraction of lug 66, see FIG- URE 2, shifts feedmember 65 rearward to pass a single pellet 38 into position received onseat 5S. The lever 45 may then be swung .counterclockwise, as by .amanual squeezing operation,'to locate the pin or indicator as desired,along the scale or markings 50, see FIGURE 3. This serves to charge orimpart potential energy to the spring 42 by compression thereof. Thetrigger arm 52 is next swung rearward or counterclockwise to shift stoparm 52 downward, the position shown in FIGURE 4. Abutment or stop 59 isthereby shifted downward out of the path of plunger 41, whereby theplunger shoots forward to propel a pellet from seat 58 forward out ofthe barrel 12 into the yhollow body 11. The Various movements of thepropelled pellet in the hollow body may determine score, or otherwiseprovide the basis for game p V3i/'hen all of the pellets have thus beenpropelled, the game may `be prepared for repetition by manipulation ofthe device to return the pellets to the feed position shown in FIGURE 1.

From the foregoing, it is seen that Ia unique bagatelletype game deviceis provided which fully accomplishes its intended objects and is Welladapted to meet practical conditions of manufacture yand use.

Although the present invention has been described in some detail by wayof illustration and example for purposes of clarity of understanding, itis understood that certain changes and modifications may be made withinthe spirit of the invention and scope of t-he appended claim.

What is claimed is:

A bagatelle toy comprising a casing having an elongate barrel part and atransverse grip part, said barrel part having one end-region open fordischarging a pellet, its other end-region having compressible resilientpropulsion means releasable for propelling a pellet from said oneend-region, trig-ger means carried by said grip part for releasing saidpropulsion means, and a hollow body configured to define a game field,removably and replaceably carried by said -barrel and having an inletopening communicating with said barrel end-region for receiving apropelled pellet, and having an outlet opening communieating with anintermediate region of said barrel part for passing pellets to saidbarrel part in position to be propelled, energy-input means carried bysaid casing and operative to compress said propulsion means prior torelease thereof, and comprising `a lever pivoted to said gripping part,and having one end extending from said gripping part for movement by anoperator and having its other end extending into said other barrelend-region for compressing engagement with said propulsion means, a stopmounted in said casing for movement into and out of said barrel forrestraining yand releasing said propulsion means, and being locatedproximate to the outlet opening of said hollow body for receiving apellet from said body, and having a seat for supporting -a receivedpellet in position to be propelled, said trigger means being operativelyconnected to said stop for actuating the latter, and cooperatinginterfitting formations on said barrel part and on said hollow body forreleasably securing the latter to the former.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,287,197 12/1918Blackshear 125--50 X 1,470,5 07 11/ 1923 Obermaier. 2,170,221 8/ 1939Stanley 124-29 3,026,644 3/ 1962 Raider. 3,117,787 1/1964 Stutzke273-101 3,196,861 7/1965 Yano 124-27 RICHARD C. PINKHAM, PrimaryExaminer. W. R. BROWNE, Assistant Examiner.

